


Stupid Slate

by casadefreewill



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Gen, Stressed link, being a personal guard is hard, descovering new things about the Sheikah Slate, pre-game, zelda does not make the job easy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-24 19:48:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14961023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casadefreewill/pseuds/casadefreewill
Summary: If Zelda doesn’t start being more careful around untested strange technology Link’s going to have a heart attack one of these days.





	Stupid Slate

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt found on tumblr by [@sparklyfaerie](%E2%80%9Csparklyfaerie.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D) and [@alyssawritesalot](%E2%80%9Calyssawritesalot.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D)

The wind rustled the long grass along the plain as the pair stopped for a short break beneath the shade of a long branched apple tree. Link watched Princess Zelda turn the Sheikah Slate over in her hands to inspect its sides; he glared daggers at the small rectangular object. Not that he didn’t trust Purah, he just didn’t trust something with so few answers as to how it worked. There’s no way something that could seemingly make explosive matter out of nothing or STOP ACTUAL TIME!! was totally safe. They had no information on  _ how _ it was constructed. No way to tell what magic was in it, if there even was magic in it (no matter what Purah insisted he wasn’t entirely convinced the “runes” weren’t a form of magic) and if there wasn’t, that just left less of an explanation of how it worked!

Link sighed and turned away at the sound of something moving through the grass.

“Oh, what does this do?”

There was a soft click followed by a sound Link could only describe as ‘bell like’. Whipping around, Link just had time to see the Princess’ body turn into swirling blue light and then separate into small light strings that shot off and disappeared into the air.

“PRINCESS!” Link leaped forwards to the area where Zelda had just been, but the light strings had all dissipated before he was even able to grab at one. What had that damn slate just done!?

He stumbled back a few steps. She could still be around here. She might still be alive. The slate probably didn’t kill her, right? He shook his head, he was being stupid, of course she was still alive . . . she had to be.

Link spun around and scanned the open field for a shock of flowing blonde against the green.  When nothing immediately caught his attention he took off at a sprint to get to higher ground.

“Princess!”

“PRINCESS!”

“ZELDA!!”

But only the wind answered him.

 

<<==<••(o)••>==>>

 

Link doubled over as his breath stuttered in and out of his lungs. He hands shook and felt clammy where they gripped his pants.

He couldn’t find her anywhere. She’d just, disappeared. The light of the setting sun had his shadow standing tall and purple against the red stained grass. It felt like an omen.

He was her personal guard!! He was  _ with _ her! Nothing should have happened to her on his watch! Link ran his fingers through his hair. Aaaaaahh! He made a fist and pulled hard feeling the edges of his eyes get hot. He should have tried harder to argue that the damn slate should stay in the lab. He. Should. Have. Done. SOMETHING!

Link gingerly uncurled his fingers, now aching from the force of his grip, from around his hair. He took a deep shuddering breath and tried to get his thoughts to stop racing.

The labs!

The labs had to know something!

 

<<==<••(o)••>==>>

 

Purah stood a few feet back from the chalkboard looking over the calculations for the twenty-seventh time that day. Something was definitely missing but what it could be she just didn’t-

The lab door flew open and ricocheted off the wall sending a few papers flapping to the floor and Purah scrambling backwards into her equations as she looked towards the now occupied door.

“PURAH! YOU NEED TO GET THE PRINCESS BACK!!!” Link flew into the room, bumping into the worktable a few feet in front of the door, now creaking slowly shut behind him.

“What?” Purah pushed off the chalkboard and walked towards the table.

“Zelda,” the princess’s personal guard was taking heaving breaths as he made the motion of pressing something with his finger. “That damn slate just, just” he wiggles his fingers and then shot them into the air. “You gotta bring her back!”

“You’re going to have to be clearer Link, how about you catch your breath first” these young people always seemed to assume you knew what they were talking about. Honestly. Though considering his state barging in here it was probably rather important.

“The Sheikah Slate made Zel- made The Princess disappear! You have to get her back!” Purah’s heart dropped into her gut.

“It did what!?” Her response didn’t seem to help the guard’s state of mind at all but she was on a role now. “When! How! What was she doing when it happened!” She pushed around the papers on her workspace looking for one with some space, a pen, and maybe a reference to a possibility of that function in older notes.

“It, it was early afternoon. We were taking a break in Hyrule Field, and she just, clicked something. The next thing I know she’s turned blue and burst into a million strings of light! I only turned my back for a second!” Link slammed his hands into the table, “You have to get her back!!”

“Teleportation?” Purah jotted down absently. Then, a little more worriedly, “Disintegration?” Link’s eyes grew wide at the mumbled word.

“Purah please! Just tell me what you need!”

“It’s not that simple, we don’t know entirely how the slate works- Did you recover the slate?!”

“No that disappeared too” Purah let out a long breath.

“Well then we really have nowhere to start,” she looked up at the boy’s anxious pleading eyes. “I- I’m sorry Link,” pure devastation tumbled over his features, “we just don’t know enough about the workings of the slate.”

“Yeah, I just” Links hands were shaking again, his legs felt weak “I’ll, I’ll just go” it didn’t feel real “just gotta keep looking is all.”

Link walked out of the lab in a daze. Leaning against one of the outer walls he slid to the ground.

What else could he do? He could start looking across  _ all _ of Hyrule. But considering the amount of time that would take, the likelihood that that would have of finding Zelda, and what that would say to the other races about the Hylians. And to even attempt that he would have to inform the king.

He would have to tell the king.

He would have to go to King Rhoam and tell him, to his face, that he lost his daughter.

He was a good as dead.

 

<<==<••(o)••>==>>

 

The other guards greeted him as he made his way through the castle halls but Link wasn’t able to muster more than a strained smile in return.

Perhaps before he went to seal his fate he would go pay his respects to the disintegrated princess. This should never have happened. How could he just let -

Link leaned against the wall outside Zelda’s study. He couldn’t believe she was gone. He felt hot tears force themselves over the edges of his eyes as a hard lump formed in his throat. He quickly pushed the door open to the princess’s study.

To the sight of the princess bent over her desk scribbling furiously in a notebook.

“Oh, Link, glad you caught up, I just made the most magnificent discovery!”

Link just stood there dumbfounded. She wasn’t -

Zelda looked up at the sound of a body hitting the wooden floor of her study. Glancing over her shoulder she saw her personal guard collapsed on the floor.

“. . . Are you quite alright?” She was pretty sure he didn’t usually make a habit of laying face first on the floor.

“I’m- I’m quite fine, thank you your grace” the words were slightly muffled by his position. Well all right. She simply shrugged and turned back to her work.

A muffled voice wavered up from the floor.

“I’d- I’d like to retire, your grace, at your leave.” Zelda just waved over her shoulder as she finished writing a note on the sensation of reforming after transportation. There was a bit of shuffling from behind her and then the study door was creaking shut.

 

<<==<••(o)••>==>>

 

Link collapsed into his bed that night. Hugging his pillow to his face, he sucked in a large lung-full of air and screamed.

If this continued, it sure wouldn’t be an enemy’s sword that sent him to an early grave.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome


End file.
